Missions

New Horizons

The New Horizons mission is helping us understand worlds at the edge of our solar system by making the first reconnaissance of the dwarf planet Pluto and by venturing deeper into the distant, mysterious Kuiper Belt – a relic of solar system formation.

Launch Date

Jan. 19, 2006 | 19:00 UT

Launch Site

Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA | Launch Complex 41

Destination

Pluto, Kuiper Belt, Beyond Our Solar System

Type

Flyby

Status

Successful—Extended Mission in Progress

Nation

United States

Alternate Names

2006-001A

Goals

Make the first close-up study of Pluto and its moons and other icy worlds in the distant Kuiper Belt. The spacecraft has seven scientific instruments to study the atmospheres, surfaces, interiors and intriguing environments of Pluto and its distant neighbors.

Accomplishments

On July 14, 2015, New Horizons became the first spacecraft to explore Pluto and its five moons up close. The successful flyby revealed Pluto as a dynamic, complex world. The science results were beamed back to Earth over 16 months. New Horizons is now en route to a second science target—(486958) 2014 MU69.